Year 7&8 Girls Development Team Finish Undeafeted and Top of Table at Lower North Island Girls Festival Tournament in Masterton

Huge congratulations to our Year 7 and 8 Girls side, who finished undefeated and on top of the table in the Lower North Island Girls Festival tournament in Masterton.
A big thank you to the coaches, managers, parents and supporters who make it all possible!

Day One
The Taranaki Y7 & 8 girls have kicked off their Masterton tournament with an impressive win over Hawkes Bay at Wairarapa College today.
Asked to bowl first, swing bowlers Emma Taylor 1/4 off 2, and Evie Ander 1/9 off 3 both bowled accurately, making it hard for the Hawkes Bay players to score. Tayla Zame 1/5 off 2 then came on to bowl a wicket maiden and she was well supported in the middle overs by Nina Rangiwahia 2/9 off 2 to put Taranaki well on top mid way through the innings.
Some late innings big hitting from Hawkes Bay threatened to take the momentum away from our Taranaki girls but some inspired boundary fielding from Ella Wanahi, and a crucial late wicket from captain Bailee Egan-Gray helped restrict Hawkes Bay to 117 after their 20 overs.
The Taranaki run chase got off to a positive start with Bailee Egan-Gray 15 runs, and Nina Rangiwahia 10* retired combining for a 50 run opening stand. Evie Ander 19* retired and Tayla Zame 18* retired carried on the good batting, and combine that with the 54 extras Hawkes Bay bowled the Taranaki girls reached their target with three overs to spare.

Day Two
In the morning game vs Wairarapa, Taranaki lost the toss and were sent in to bat on a difficult Queen Elizabeth park wicket. The early run out of Bailee Egan-Gray for 5 put Taranaki on the back foot, until a superb partnership between Evie Ander 20* retired and Nina Rangiwahia 13* retired got the innings back on track. Emma Taylor 14 off 11 and Ella Wanahi 12 off 11 helped push the score up over 100.
The Wairarapa run chase never really threatened thanks to superb bowling from Nina Ranagiwahia 3/5 off 2, Tayla Zame 2/7 off 2 and Krystyna Wells 1/4 off 2, resulting in a 26-run win to Taranaki.
The afternoon game saw Taranaki take on a strong Wellington team. Taranaki again lost the toss and were sent in to bat. Opener Evie Ander was again in the runs scoring 21 off 22 and she was well supported by captain Bailee Egan-Gray 18 off 17. Tayla Zame 9* retired and Rheanna Mack 7* retired ensuring Taranaki batted out their 20 overs, finishing on a competitive 133.
Any thoughts Wellington had of a successful run chase were dashed by a fiery opening spell from Rheanna Mack with 2/19 off 3. Wellington never recovered from losing early wickets and Taranaki kept the pressure on with some impressive fielding highlighted by a brilliant run out from Krystyna Wells. Wellington ending up on 99, 34 runs short.

Final Day
Bowling first on a flat wicket the Taranaki opening bowlers Rheanna Mack 2/11 off 3 and Emma Taylor 1/9 off 2 struck early to put Manawatu on the back foot. Manawatu threatened a big partnership before Nina Rangiwahia 2/6 off 2 and Tayla Zame 2/9 off 2 again bowled well in tandem to help restrict Manawatu to 93 off their 20 overs.
The Taranaki opening batters enjoyed the batter friendly conditions and came out and played their shots. Evie Ander top-scored with 25 and Nina Rangiwahia 19* retired. Aggressive batting from Ella Wanahi 17 runs and Rheanna Mack 20 runs saw Taranaki chase down the total with seven overs to spare.
This caps off a very successful tournament for the girls, something they can look back on and be very proud of.
A special mention to Abbey Fleming who played the whole tournament with a broken finger, and McKenzie Zame who was our super sub fielder.

Full match details can be found here at PlayHQ

The full squad is: Bailee Egan-Gray (c), Rheanna Mack (vc), Nina Rangiwahia, Evie Ander, Tayla Zame, Abbey Fleming, Krystyna Wells, Emma Tayla, Ella Wanahi. Coach: Aaron Zame. Manager: Alisa Ravji.